Tourism Planning

INTRODUCTION
Tourism is one of many activities in a community or
region that requires planning and coordination. This
bulletin provides a simple structure and basic guidelines
for comprehensive tourism planning at a community or
regional level. Planning is the process of identifying
objectives and defining and evaluating methods of
achieving them. By comprehensive planning we mean
planning which considers all of the tourism resources,
organizations, markets, and programs within a region.
Comprehensive planning also considers economic,
environmental, social, and institutional aspects of
tourism development.

TWO SIDES OF TOURISM PLANNING

Tourism planning has evolved from two related but
distinct sets of planning philosophies and methods. On
the one hand, tourism is one of many activities in an
area that must be considered as part of physical,
environmental, social, and economic planning. Therefore,
it is common to find tourism addressed, at least
partially, in a regional land use, transportation,
recreation, economic development, or comprehensive plan.
The degree to which tourism is addressed in such plans
depends upon the relative importance of tourism to the
community or region and how sensitive the planning
authority is to tourism activities.
Tourism may also be viewed as a business in which a
community or region chooses to engage. Individual tourism
businesses conduct a variety of planning activities
including feasibility, marketing, product development,
promotion, forecasting, and strategic planning. If
tourism is a significant component of an area's economy
or development plans, regional or community-wide
marketing plans are needed to coordinate the development
and marketing activities of different tourism interests
in the community.

A comprehensive approach integrates a strategic marketing

plan with more traditional public planning activities.
This ensures a balance between serving the needs and
wants of the tourists versus the needs and wants of local
residents. A formal tourism plan provides a vehicle for
the various interests within a community to coordinate
their activities and work toward common goals. It also is
a means of coordinating tourism with other community
activities.

STEPS IN THE PLANNING PROCESS

like any planning, tourism planning is goal-oriented,
striving to achieve certain objectives by matching
available resources and programs with the needs and wants
of people. Comprehensive planning requires a systematic
approach, usually involving a series of steps. The
process is best viewed as an iterative and on-going one,
with each step subject to modification and refinement at
any stage of the planning process.
There are six steps in the planning process:
1. Define goals and objectives.
2. Identify the tourism system.
a) Resources
b) Organizations
c) Markets
3. Generate alternatives.
4. Evaluate alternatives.
5. Select and implement.
6. Monitor and evaluate.

STEP ONE: Defining Goals and objectives. Obtaining clear

statements of goals and objectives is difficult, but
important. Ideally, tourism development goals should flow
from more general community goals and objectives. It is
important to understand how a tourism plan serves these
broader purposes. Is the community seeking a broader tax
base, increased employment opportunities, expanded
recreation facilities, better educational programs, a
higher quality of life? How can tourism contribute to
these objectives?

If tourism is identified as a means of serving broader

community goals, it makes sense to develop plans with
more specific tourism development objectives. These are
generally defined through a continuing process in which
various groups and organizations in a community work
together toward common goals. A local planning authority,
chamber of commerce, visitor’s bureau, or similar group
should assume a leadership role to develop an initial
plan and obtain broad involvement of tourism interests in
the community. Public support for the planning process
and plan is also important.

Having a good understanding of tourism and the tourism

system in your community is the first step toward
defining goals and objectives for tourism development.
The types of goals that are appropriate and the precision
with which you are able to define them will depend upon
how long your community has been involved in tourism and
tourism planning.

In the early stages of tourism development, goals may

involve establishing organizational structures and
collecting information to better identify the tourism
system in the community. Later, more precise objectives
can be formulated and more specific development and
marketing strategies evaluated.

STEP TWO: Identifying Your Tourism System

When planning for any type of activity, it is important
to first define its scope and characteristics. Be clear
about exactly what your plan encompasses. A good initial
question is, "What do you mean by tourism?" Tourism is
defined in many ways. Generally, tourism involves people
traveling outside of their community for pleasure.
Definitions differ on the specifics of how far people
must travel, whether or not they must stay overnight, for
how long, and what exactly is included under traveling
for "pleasure". Do you want your tourism plan to include
day visitors, conventioneers, business travelers, people
visiting friends and relatives, people passing through,
or seasonal residents?

Which community resources and organizations serve

tourists or could serve tourists? Generally, tourists
share community resources with local residents and
businesses. Many organizations serve both tourists and
locals. This complicates tourism planning and argues for
a clear idea of what your tourism plan entails.

You can begin to clarify the tourism system by breaking

it down into three subsystems:

(1) tourism resources,

(2) tourism organizations, and
(3) tourism markets.

An initial task in developing a tourism plan is to

identify, inventory, and classify the objects within each
of these subsystems.

TOURISM RESOURCES are any (1) natural, (2) cultural, (3)

human, or (4) capital resources that either are used or
can be used to attract or serve tourists. A tourism
resource inventory identifies and classifies the
resources available that provide opportunities for
tourism development. Conduct an objective and realistic
assessment of the quality and quantity of resources you
have to work with. Table I provides a suggested
classification to help obtain a broad and organized
picture of your tourism resources.
TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS:
combine resources in various
proportions to provide products and services for the
tourist. Table 2 is a partial list and classification of
organizations that manage or coordinate tourism-related
activities. It is important to recognize the diverse
array of public and private organizations involved with
tourism. The most difficult part of tourism planning is
to get these groups to work toward common goals. You
should develop a list of these organizations within your
own community and obtain their input and cooperation in
your tourism planning efforts. Setting up appropriate
communication systems and institutional arrangements is a
key part of community tourism planning. (See Extension
bulletin E-1958 in this series)

TABLE 1. TOURISM RESOURCES

Natural Resources
* Climate-seasons
* Water resources-lakes, streams, waterfalls
* Flora-forests, flowers, shrubs, wild edibles
* Fauna-fish & wildlife
* Geological resources-topography, soils, sand dunes,
beaches, caves, rocks & minerals, fossils
* Scenery-combinations of all of the above

Cultural Resources
* Historic buildings, sites
* Monuments, shrines
* Cuisine
* Ethnic cultures
* Industry, government, religion, etc.
* Anthropological resources
* Local celebrities

Human Resources
* Hospitality skills
* Management skills
* Seasonal labor force
* Performing artists-music, drama, art, storytellers,
etc.
* Craftsman and artisans
* Other labor skills from chefs to lawyers to researchers
* Local populations

Capital
* Availability of capital, financing
* Infrastructure-transportation roads, airports,
railroads, harbors & marinas, trails & walkways
* Infrastructure: utilities water, power, waste
treatment, communications

TABLE 2. TOURISM MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS

AND SERVICES
Off-Site: Coordination, planning, technical assistance,
research, regulation:
* Federal & state departments of commerce,
transportation, & natural resources
* Federal, state, regional, & local tourism associations
* Educational organizations & consultants, e.g., Travel &
Tourism Research Association; U.S.
Travel Data Center; Travel Reference Center, Univ. of
Colorado, Boulder; Travel, Tourism, & Recreation Resource
Center, Michigan State University.
* Travel information & reservation services

On-Site: development, promotion and management, of

tourism resources:
* Federal agencies, NB. Departments of commerce,
transportation, & land management agencies

* State agencies, NB. departments of commerce,

transportation, & land/facility management
agencies

* Local government organizations, e.g., visitor

information, chamber of commerce, convention
& visitors bureaus, parks

* Businesses:
-Accommodations: Hotels, motels, Lodges, resorts, bed &
breakfast cabins & cottages, Condominiums, second homes,
Campgrounds

-Food & Beverage: Restaurants, Grocery, Bars, nightclubs,

Fast food, Catering services
-Transportation: Air, rail, bus; Local transportation:
taxi, limo, Auto, bicycle, boat rental; Local tour
services

-Information: Travel agencies, Information and

reservation services, Automobile clubs
-Recreation Facilities & Services: Winter sports: ski,
skating, snowmobile areas; Golf courses, miniature golf;
Swimming pools, water slides, beaches; tennis, handball,
racquetball courts, bowling alleys; Athletic clubs,
health spas; Marinas, boat rentals and charters; hunting
& fishing guides; Horseback enterprises; Sporting goods
sales & rentals

-Entertainment: Nightclubs, amusement parks, spectator

sport facilities; Gambling facilities: casinos, horse
racing, bingo; video arcades; art galleries and studios,
craft shops, studios, demonstrations; performing arts:
theater, dance, music, film; historic & prehistoric
sites; museums: art, history, science, technology;
arboreta, zoos, nature centers,

-Special festivals and events

-Support services: Auto repair, gasoline service

stations; boat & recreation vehicle dealers and service;
retail shops: sporting goods, specialties, souvenirs,
clothing; health services: hospitals, clinics,
pharmacies; laundry and dry cleaning; beauty & barber
shops; babysitting services; pet care; communications:
newspaper, telephone; banking and financial services

TOURISM MARKETS: Tourists makeup the third, and perhaps

most important subsystem. Successful tourism programs
require a strong market orientation. The needs and wants
of the tourists you choose to attract and serve must be
the focus of much of your marketing and development
activity. Therefore, it is important to clearly
understand which tourism market segments you wish to
attract and serve. Tourists fall into a very diverse set
of categories with quite distinct needs and wants. You
should identify the different types of tourists, or
market segments that you presently serve or would like to
serve. This may involve one or more tourism market
surveys.

A visitor survey identifies the size and nature of the

existing market and asks the following questions:
* what are the primary market segments you presently
attract?
* Where do they come from?
* What local businesses and facilities do they use?
* What attracted them to the community?
* How did they find out about your community?
* How satisfied are they with your offerings?

A market survey (usually a telephone survey) also can be

conducted among households in regions from which you wish
to attract tourists. This type of study helps identify
potential markets, and means of attracting tourists to
your area.

Tourism market segments

in a general tourism plan, some clear target tourism
market segments should be identified (See Table 3). You
might begin by defining the market area from which you
will draw most of your visitors. The size of your market
area depends upon the uniqueness and quality of your
"product", transportation systems, tastes and preferences
of surrounding populations, and your competition.
Identifying the market area will help target information
and promotion and define transportation routes and modes,
competition, and characteristics of your market.

Next, divide your travel market into the following trip

length categories:

* day trips from a 50 mile radius,

* day trips from 50 to 200 miles away,
* pass-through travelers,
* overnight trips of 1 or 2 nights (most likely
weekends), and
* extended overnight vacation trips.

After you have an idea of your market area and kinds of

trips you will be serving, begin defining more specific
market segments like vehicle campers, downhill skiers,
sightseers, family vacationers, single weekenders, and
the like. These segments can be more clearly tied to
particular resources, businesses, and facilities in your
community.

What kinds of products and services are likely to attract

each of these groups? Tourist needs as well as their
impact on the local community are quite different for day
tourists versus overnight tourists. Areas catering
primarily to weekend traffic will experience large
fluctuations in use. In deciding the relative importance
of these different segments, communities need to assess
both their ability to provide required services (do you
have enough rooms?), as well as the demand for different
types of trips relative to the supply and your
competition.

THE ENVIRONMENT: A tourism plan is significantly affected

by many factors in the broader environment. Indeed, one
of the complexities of tourism planning is the number of
variables that are outside of the control of an
individual tourism business or community. These include
such things as tourism offerings and prices at competing
destinations, federal and state policy and legislation,
currency exchange rates, the state of the economy, and
weather. These factors are discussed more fully in
Extension bulletin E-1959 as part of the market
environment analysis.

Local populations also must be considered in tourism

planning. As they compete with tourists for resources,
they can be significantly affected by tourism activity,
and they are an important source of support in getting
tourism plans implemented. A survey of local residents
can be conducted to assess community attitudes toward
tourism development, identify impacts of tourism on the
community, and obtain local input into tourism plans.
Public hearings, workshops, and advisory boards are other
ways to obtain public involvement in tourism planning.
Local support and cooperation is important to the success
of tourism programs and should not be overlooked.

TABLE 3. TOURISM MARKET SEGMENTS

I. Geographic market areas

II. Trip categories

Day Trips:
* short-within 50 miles
* long-up to 200 miles

Pass through traffic:

* day visitors
* overnight stays

Overnight Trips:
* weekend
* vacation

III. Activity or trip purpose

Outdoor Recreation:
* Water-based Activity:
-Boating: sail, power, cruise, row, canoe, water ski
-Swimming: pool, beach, sunbathing, scuba
-Fishing: charter, sport, from pier, boat, shore, ice

* Land-based Activity:
-Camping: backpacking, primitive, developed
-Hiking: climbing, beachcombing, spelunking
-Hunting
-Skiing: downhill, cross country
-Snowmobiling
-Bicycling
-Horseback riding
-Picnicking

* Air-based Activity:
-Airplane rides, hang gliding, ballooning, parachuting

* General:
-Nature study
-Photography or landscape painting
-Viewing natural scenery

Sightseeing & Entertainment:

* Visiting particular sites or areas:
-historic or pre-historic
-cultural
-amusements
-scenic

* Attending particular events, shows, or demonstrations:

-ethnic festivals
-sporting events
-performances
-agricultural fair or festival
-boat show
-shopping
Other Primary Purpose for Trip:
* Visiting Friends & Relatives
* Convention & Business/Pleasure

STEP THREE: Generating Alternatives.

Generating alternative development and marketing options
to meet your goals requires some creative thinking and
brainstorming. The errors made at this stage are usually
thinking too narrowly or screening out alternatives
prematurely. It is wise to solicit a wide range of
options from a diverse group of people. If tourism
expertise is lacking in your community, seek help and
advice outside the community.

Tourism planning involves a wide range of interrelated

development and marketing decisions. The following
development questions will get you started:
* How much importance should be assigned to tourism
within a community or region?

* Which general community goals are tourism development

designed to serve?

* Which organization(s) will provide the leadership and

coordination necessary for community tourism planning?
What are the relative roles of public and private
sectors?

Tourism marketing decision questions include (Extension

bulletin E-1959):
* Segments: Which market segments should be pursued;
geographic markets, trip types, activity or demographic
subgroups?

* Product: What kinds of tourism products and services

should be provided? Who should provide what?

* Place: Where should tourism facilities be located?

* Promotion: What kinds of promotion should be used, by

whom, in which media, how much, when? What community
tourism theme or image should be established? (See
Extension bulletins E-1939, E-1957, E-1940, E-1938,
E-2005)

* Price: What prices should be charged for which products

and services. Who should capture the revenue? (See
Extension bulletin E-1999)

STEP FOUR: Evaluating Alternatives.

Tourism development and marketing options are evaluated
by assessing the degree to which each option will be able
to meet the stated goals and objectives. There are
usually two parts to a systematic evaluation of tourism
development and marketing alternatives: (1) Feasibility
analysis, and (2) Impact assessment. These two tasks are
interrelated, but think of them as trying to answer two
basic questions: (1) Can it be done?, and (2) What are
the consequences? A decision to take a specific action
must be based both on feasibility and desirability.

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS: First, screen alternatives and

eliminate those that are not feasible due to economic,
environmental, political, legal, or other factors.
Evaluate the remaining set of alternatives in more
detail, paying particular attention to the market
potential and financial plan.

Make a realistic assessment of your community's ability

to attract and serve a market segment or segments. This
requires a clear understanding of the tourism market in
your area and how this market is changing. Also carefully
identify your competition and evaluate your advantages
and disadvantages compared to the competition.

Plan toward the future because it takes time to implement

decisions and for your actions to take effect. Therefore,
look at the likely market and competition for several
years to come. Review forecasts for the travel market in
your area, if available. Careful tracking of tourism
trends in your own community can help identify changes in
the market that you will have to adapt to. (See Extension
bulletins E-1959 and E-1992 for more details on
feasibility and marketing.)

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: When evaluating alternative

development and marketing strategies it is important to
understand the impacts, both positive and negative, of
proposed actions. Table 4 presents a classification of
economic, environmental, and social impacts associated
with tourism development. The types of impacts and their
importance vary across different communities and proposed
actions. Generally, the size, extent, and nature of
tourism impacts depend upon:
* volume of tourist activity relative to local activity
* length and nature of tourist contacts with the
community
* degree of concentration/dispersal of tourist activity
in the area
* similarities or differences between local populations
and tourists
* stability/sensitivity of local economy, environment,
and social structure
* how well tourism is planned, controlled, and managed.

Look at both the benefits and costs of any proposed

actions (See Extension bulletin E-1937). While tourism
development can increase income, revenues, and
employment, it also involves costs. Evaluate benefits and
costs of tourism development from the perspectives of
local government, businesses, and residents.

TABLE 4. IMPACTS OF TOURISM

Economic Impacts:
* Sales, revenue, and income
* Employment
* Fiscal impact-taxes, infrastructure costs
* Prices
* Economic base & structure

Environmental Impacts:
* Lands
* Waters
* Air
* Infrastructure
* Flora & fauna

Social Impacts:
* Population structure & distribution
* Values & attitudes
* Education
* Occupations
* Safety & security
* Congestion & crowding
* Community spirit & cohesion
* Quality of life

Impacts on Local Government

Local government provides most of the infrastructure and
many of the services essential to tourism development,
including highways, public parks, law enforcement, water
and sewer, garbage collection and disposal. Evaluate
tourism decisions with a clear understanding of the
capacity of the local infrastructure and services
relative to anticipated needs, and take into account both
the needs of local populations and tourists.

A fiscal impact analysis evaluates the impact of tourism

on the community's tax base and local government costs.
It entails predicting the additional infrastructure and
service requirements of tourism development, estimating
their costs, deciding who will pay for/provide them, and
how. Will tourism generate increased local government
revenue through fees and charges, local sales or use
taxes, increased property values or property tax rates,
or larger local shares of federal and state tax revenues?

Impacts on Business and Industry

Businesses that are directly serving tourists benefit
from sales to tourists. Through secondary impacts,
tourism activity also benefits a wide range of businesses
in a community. For example, a local textile industry may
sell to a linen supply firm that serves hotels and motels
catering primarily to tourists. A local forest products
industry sells to a lumberyard where local woodcarvers or
furniture makers buy their supplies. They in turn sell to
tourists through various retail outlets. All of these
businesses benefit from tourism.

If most products and services for tourists are bought

outside of the local area, much of the tourist spending
"leaks" out of the local economy. The more a community is
"self-sufficient" in serving tourists, the larger the
local impact.

Impacts on Residents
Local residents may experience a broad range of both
positive and negative impacts from tourism development.
Tourism development may provide increased employment and
income for the community. Although tourism jobs are
primarily in the service sectors and are often seasonal,
part time, and low-paying, these characteristics, are
neither universal nor always undesirable. Residents may
value opportunities for part time and seasonal work. In
particular, employment opportunities and work experiences
for students or retirees may be desired.

Residents may also benefit from local services that

otherwise would not be available. Tourism development may
mean a wider variety of retailers and restaurants, or a
better community library. It may also mean more traffic,
higher prices, and increases in property values and local
taxes. The general quality of the environment and life in
the community may go up or down due to tourism
development. This depends on the nature of tourism
development, the preferences and desires of local
residents, and how well tourism is planned and managed.

STEPS FIVE AND SIX:

Implementation, and Monitoring and Evaluation.
We will not attempt a complete discussion of
decisionmaking, plan implementation, and monitoring, but
these are critical steps in the success of a tourism
plan. A set of specific actions should be prescribed with
clearly defined responsibilities and timetables. Monitor
progress in implementing the plan and evaluate the
success of the plan in meeting its goals and objectives
on a regular basis. Plans generally need to be adjusted
over time due to changing goals, changing market
conditions, and unanticipated impacts. It is a good idea
to build monitoring and evaluation systems into your
planning efforts.

CONCLUDING REMARKS
Successful tourism planning and development means serving
both tourists and local residents. The bulletins in this
series stress the importance of a market orientation for
attracting and serving tourists. This market orientation
must be balanced with a clear view of how tourism serves
the broader community interest and an understanding of
the positive and negative impacts of tourism development.

Remember, tourism should serve the community first and

the tourist second. Tourism development must be
compatible with other activities in the area and be
supported by the local population. Therefore, the tourism
plan should be closely coordinated with other local and
regional planning efforts, if not an integral part of
them.
 Michigan State University Extension
Tourism Educational Materials - 33000005
06/06/02
Tourism Planning

By: Daniel J. Stynes and Cynthia O'Halloran

Cooperative Extension Service
Michigan State University
Extension Bulletin E-2004
October 1987

INTRODUCTION
Tourism is one of many activities in a community or

region that requires planning and coordination.

This
bulletin provides a simple structure and basic
guidelines
for comprehensive tourism planning at a
community or
regional level. Planning is the process of identifying

objectives and defining and evaluating methods of

achieving them. By comprehensive planning we
mean
planning which considers all of the tourism
resources,
organizations, markets, and programs within a
region.
Comprehensive planning also considers economic,
environmental, social, and institutional aspects of
tourism development.

TWO SIDES OF TOURISM PLANNING

Tourism planning has evolved from two related but
distinct sets of planning philosophies and methods.
On
the one hand, tourism is one of many activities in
an
area that must be considered as part of physical,
environmental, social, and economic planning.
Therefore,
it is common to find tourism addressed, at least
partially, in a regional land use, transportation,
recreation, economic development, or
comprehensive plan.
The degree to which tourism is addressed in such
plans
depends upon the relative importance of tourism to
the
community or region and how sensitive the
planning
authority is to tourism activities.

Tourism may also be viewed as a business in which

a
community or region chooses to engage. Individual
tourism
businesses conduct a variety of planning activities
including feasibility, marketing, product
development,
promotion, forecasting, and strategic planning. If
tourism is a significant component of an area's
economy
or development plans, regional or community-wide
marketing plans are needed to coordinate the
development
and marketing activities of different tourism
interests
in the community.

A comprehensive approach integrates a strategic

marketing
plan with more traditional public planning
activities.
This ensures a balance between serving the needs
and
wants of the tourists versus the needs and wants of
local
residents. A formal tourism plan provides a vehicle
for
the various interests within a community to
coordinate
their activities and work toward common goals. It
also is
a means of coordinating tourism with other
community
activities.

STEPS IN THE PLANNING PROCESS

Like any planning, tourism planning is goal-
oriented,
striving to achieve certain objectives by matching
available resources and programs with the needs
and wants
of people. Comprehensive planning requires a
systematic
approach, usually involving a series of steps. The
process is best viewed as an iterative and on-going
one,
with each step subject to modification and
refinement at
any stage of the planning process.

There are six steps in the planning process:

1. Define goals and objectives.
2. Identify the tourism system.
a) Resources
b) Organizations
c) Markets
3. Generate alternatives.
4. Evaluate alternatives.
5. Select and implement.
6. Monitor and evaluate.

STEP ONE: Defining Goals and objectives.

Obtaining clear
statements of goals and objectives is difficult, but
important. Ideally, tourism development goals
should flow
from more general community goals and
objectives. It is
important to understand how a tourism plan serves
these
broader purposes. Is the community seeking a
broader tax
base, increased employment opportunities,
expanded
recreation facilities, better educational programs, a

higher quality of life? How can tourism contribute

to
these objectives?
If tourism is identified as a means of serving
broader
community goals, it makes sense to develop plans
with
more specific tourism development objectives.
These are
generally defined through a continuing process in
which
various groups and organizations in a community
work
together toward common goals. A local planning
authority,
chamber of commerce, visitors bureau, or similar
group
should assume a leadership role to develop an
initial
plan and obtain broad involvement of tourism
interests in
the community. Public support for the planning
process
and plan is also important.

Having a good understanding of tourism and the

tourism
system in your community is the first step toward
defining goals and objectives for tourism
development.
The types of goals that are appropriate and the
precision
with which you are able to define them will depend
upon
how long your community has been involved in
tourism and
tourism planning.

In the early stages of tourism development, goals

may
involve establishing organizational structures and
collecting information to better identify the tourism

system in the community. Later, more precise

objectives
can be formulated and more specific development
and
marketing strategies evaluated.

STEP TWO: Identifying Your Tourism System

When planning for any type of activity, it is
important
to first define its scope and characteristics. Be
clear
about exactly what your plan encompasses. A good
initial
question is, "What do you mean by tourism?"
Tourism is
defined in many ways. Generally, tourism involves
people
traveling outside of their community for pleasure.
Definitions differ on the specifics of how far people
must travel, whether or not they must stay
overnight, for
how long, and what exactly is included under
traveling
for "pleasure". Do you want your tourism plan to
include
day visitors, conventioneers, business travelers,
people
visiting friends and relatives, people passing
through,
or seasonal residents?

Which community resources and organizations

serve
tourists or could serve tourists? Generally, tourists
share community resources with local residents
and
businesses. Many organizations serve both tourists
and
locals. This complicates tourism planning and
argues for
a clear idea of what your tourism plan entails.

You can begin to clarify the tourism system by

breaking
it down into three subsystems:

(1) tourism resources,

(2) tourism organizations, and
(3) tourism markets.

An initial task in developing a tourism plan is to

identify, inventory, and classify the objects within
each
of these subsystems.

TOURISM RESOURCES are any (1) natural, (2)

cultural, (3)
human, or (4) capital resources that either are used
or
can be used to attract or serve tourists. A tourism
resource inventory identifies and classifies the
resources available that provide opportunities for
tourism development. Conduct an objective and
realistic
assessment of the quality and quantity of
resources you
have to work with. Table I provides a suggested
classification to help obtain a broad and organized
picture of your tourism resources.

TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS combine resources in

various
proportions to provide products and services for
the
tourist. Table 2 is a partial list and classification of
organizations that manage or coordinate tourism-
related
activities. It is important to recognize the diverse
array of public and private organizations involved
with
tourism. The most difficult part of tourism planning
is
to get these groups to work toward common goals.
You
should develop a list of these organizations within
your
own community and obtain their input and
cooperation in
your tourism planning efforts. Setting up
appropriate
communication systems and institutional
arrangements is a
key part of community tourism planning. (See
Extension
bulletin E-1958 in this series)

TABLE 1. TOURISM RESOURCES

Natural Resources
* Climate-seasons
* Water resources-lakes, streams, waterfalls
* Flora-forests, flowers, shrubs, wild edibles
* Fauna-fish & wildlife
* Geological resources-topography, soils, sand
dunes,
beaches, caves, rocks & minerals, fossils
* Scenery-combinations of all of the above

Cultural Resources
* Historic buildings, sites
* Monuments, shrines
* Cuisine
* Ethnic cultures
* Industry, government, religion, etc.
* Anthropological resources
* Local celebrities

Human Resources
* Hospitality skills
* Management skills
* Seasonal labor force
* Performing artists-music, drama, art, storytellers,
etc.
* Craftsman and artisans
* Other labor skills from chefs to lawyers to
researchers
* Local populations

Capital
* Availability of capital, financing
* Infrastructure-transportation roads, airports,
railroads, harbors & marinas, trails & walkways
* Infrastructure: utilities water, power, waste
treatment, communications

TABLE 2. TOURISM MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS

AND SERVICES
Off-Site: Coordination, planning, technical
assistance,
research, regulation:
* Federal & state departments of commerce,
transportation, & natural resources
* Federal, state, regional, & local tourism
associations
* Educational organizations & consultants, e.g.,
Travel &
Tourism Research Association; U.S.
Travel Data Center; Travel Reference Center, Univ.
of
Colorado, Boulder; Travel, Tourism, & Recreation
Resource
Center, Michigan State University.
* Travel information & reservation services

On-Site: development, promotion and

management, of
tourism resources:
* Federal agencies, NB. departments of commerce,
transportation, & land management agencies

* State agencies, NB. departments of commerce,

transportation, & land/facility management
agencies

* Local government organizations, e.g., visitor

information, chamber of commerce, convention
& visitor's bureaus, parks

* Businesses:
-Accommodations: Hotels, motels, Lodges, resorts,
bed &
breakfast cabins & cottages, Condominiums,
second homes,
Campgrounds

-Food & Beverage: Restaurants, Grocery, Bars,

nightclubs,
Fast food, Catering services
-Transportation: Air, rail, bus; Local transportation:
taxi, limo, Auto, bicycle, boat rental; Local tour
services

-Information: Travel agencies, Information and

reservation services, Automobile clubs

-Recreation Facilities & Services: Winter sports: ski,

skating, snowmobile areas; Golf courses, miniature
golf;
Swimming pools, water slides, beaches; tennis,
handball,
racquetball courts, bowling alleys; Athletic clubs,
health spas; Marinas, boat rentals and charters;
hunting
& fishing guides; Horseback enterprises; Sporting
goods
sales & rentals

-Entertainment: Nightclubs, amusement parks,

spectator
sport facilities; Gambling facilities: casinos, horse
racing, bingo; video arcades; art galleries and
studios,
craft shops, studios, demonstrations; performing
arts:
theater, dance, music, film; historic & prehistoric
sites; museums: art, history, science, technology;
arboreta, zoos, nature centers,

-Special festivals and events

-Support services: Auto repair, gasoline service

stations; boat & recreation vehicle dealers and
service;
retail shops: sporting goods, specialties, souvenirs,
clothing; health services: hospitals, clinics,
pharmacies; laundry and dry cleaning; beauty &
barber
shops; babysitting services; pet care;
communications:
newspaper, telephone; banking and financial
services

TOURISM MARKETS: Tourists makeup the third, and

perhaps
most important subsystem. Successful tourism
programs
require a strong market orientation. The needs and
wants
of the tourists you choose to attract and serve
must be
the focus of much of your marketing and
development
activity. Therefore, it is important to clearly
understand which tourism market segments you
wish to
attract and serve. Tourists fall into a very diverse
set
of categories with quite distinct needs and wants.
You
should identify the different types of tourists, or
market segments that you presently serve or would
like to
serve. This may involve one or more tourism
market
surveys.

A visitor survey identifies the size and nature of the

existing market and asks the following questions:

* What are the primary market segments you
presently
attract?
* Where do they come from?
* What local businesses and facilities do they use?
* What attracted them to the community?
* How did they find out about your community?
* How satisfied are they with your offerings?
A market survey (usually a telephone survey) also
can be
conducted among households in regions from
which you wish
to attract tourists. This type of study helps identify
potential markets, and means of attracting tourists
to
your area.

Tourism market segments

In a general tourism plan, some clear target
tourism
market segments should be identified (See Table
3). You
might begin by defining the market area from
which you
will draw most of your visitors. The size of your
market
area depends upon the uniqueness and quality of
your
"product", transportation systems, tastes and
preferences
of surrounding populations, and your competition.
Identifying the market area will help target
information
and promotion and define transportation routes
and modes,
competition, and characteristics of your market.

Next, divide your travel market into the following

trip
length categories:

* day trips from a 50 mile radius,

* day trips from 50 to 200 miles away,
* pass-through travelers,
* overnight trips of 1 or 2 nights (most likely
weekends), and
* extended overnight vacation trips.

After you have an idea of your market area and

kinds of
trips you will be serving, begin defining more
specific
market segments like vehicle campers, downhill
skiers,
sightseers, family vacationers, single weekenders,
and
the like. These segments can be more clearly tied
to
particular resources, businesses, and facilities in
your
community.
What kinds of products and services are likely to
attract
each of these groups? Tourist needs as well as their

impact on the local community are quite different

for day
tourists versus overnight tourists. Areas catering
primarily to weekend traffic will experience large
fluctuations in use. In deciding the relative
importance
of these different segments, communities need to
assess
both their ability to provide required services (do
you
have enough rooms?), as well as the demand for
different
types of trips relative to the supply and your
competition.

THE ENVIRONMENT: A tourism plan is significantly

affected
by many factors in the broader environment.
Indeed, one
of the complexities of tourism planning is the
number of
variables that are outside of the control of an
individual tourism business or community. These
include
such things as tourism offerings and prices at
competing
destinations, federal and state policy and
legislation,
currency exchange rates, the state of the economy,
and
weather. These factors are discussed more fully in
Extension bulletin E-1959 as part of the market
environment analysis.

Local populations also must be considered in

tourism
planning. As they compete with tourists for
resources,
they can be significantly affected by tourism
activity,
and they are an important source of support in
getting
tourism plans implemented. A survey of local
residents
can be conducted to assess community attitudes
toward
tourism development, identify impacts of tourism
on the
community, and obtain local input into tourism
plans.
Public hearings, workshops, and advisory boards
are other
ways to obtain public involvement in tourism
planning.
Local support and cooperation is important to the
success
of tourism programs and should not be overlooked.

TABLE 3. TOURISM MARKET SEGMENTS

I. Geographic market areas

II. Trip categories

Day Trips:
* short-within 50 miles
* long-up to 200 miles

Pass through traffic:

* day visitors
* overnight stays

Overnight Trips:
* weekend
* vacation
III. Activity or trip purpose

Outdoor Recreation:
* Water-based Activity:
-Boating: sail, power, cruise, row, canoe, water ski
-Swimming: pool, beach, sunbathing, scuba
-Fishing: charter, sport, from pier, boat, shore, ice

* Land-based Activity:
-Camping: backpacking, primitive, developed
-Hiking: climbing, beachcombing, spelunking
-Hunting
-Skiing: downhill, cross country
-Snowmobiling
-Bicycling
-Horseback riding
-Picnicking

* Air-based Activity:
-Airplane rides, hang gliding, ballooning,
parachuting

* General:
-Nature study
-Photography or landscape painting
-Viewing natural scenery
Sightseeing & Entertainment:
* Visiting particular sites or areas:
-historic or pre-historic
-cultural
-amusements
-scenic

* Attending particular events, shows, or

demonstrations:
-ethnic festivals
-sporting events
-performances
-agricultural fair or festival
-boat show
-shopping

Other Primary Purpose for Trip:

* Visiting Friends & Relatives
* Convention & Business/Pleasure

STEP THREE: Generating Alternatives.

Generating alternative development and marketing
options
to meet your goals requires some creative thinking
and
brainstorming. The errors made at this stage are
usually
thinking too narrowly or screening out alternatives
prematurely. It is wise to solicit a wide range of
options from a diverse group of people. If tourism
expertise is lacking in your community, seek help
and
advice outside the community.

Tourism planning involves a wide range of

interrelated
development and marketing decisions. The
following
development questions will get you started:
* How much importance should be assigned to
tourism
within a community or region?

* Which general community goals is tourism

development
designed to serve?

* Which organization(s) will provide the leadership

and
coordination necessary for community tourism
planning?
What are the relative roles of public and private
sectors?

Tourism marketing decision questions include

(Extension
bulletin E-1959):

* Segments: Which market segments should be

pursued;
geographic markets, trip types, activity or
demographic
subgroups?

* Product: What kinds of tourism products and

services
should be provided? Who should provide what?

* Place: Where should tourism facilities be located?

* Promotion: What kinds of promotion should be

used, by
whom, in which media, how much, when? What
community
tourism theme or image should be established?
(See
Extension bulletins E-1939, E-1957, E-1940, E-
1938,
E-2005)

* Price: What prices should be charged for which

products
and services. Who should capture the revenue?
(See
Extension bulletin E-1999)

STEP FOUR: Evaluating Alternatives.

Tourism development and marketing options are
evaluated
by assessing the degree to which each option will
be able
to meet the stated goals and objectives. There are
usually two parts to a systematic evaluation of
tourism
development and marketing alternatives: (1)
Feasibility
analysis, and (2) Impact assessment. These two
tasks are
interrelated, but think of them as trying to answer
two
basic questions: (1) Can it be done?, and (2) What
are
the consequences? A decision to take a specific
action
must be based both on feasibility and desirability.

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS: First, screen alternatives

and
eliminate those that are not feasible due to
economic,
environmental, political, legal, or other factors.
Evaluate the remaining set of alternatives in more
detail, paying particular attention to the market
potential and financial plan.

Make a realistic assessment of your community's

ability
to attract and serve a market segment or
segments. This
requires a clear understanding of the tourism
market in
your area and how this market is changing. Also
carefully
identify your competition and evaluate your
advantages
and disadvantages compared to the competition.

Plan toward the future because it takes time to

implement
decisions and for your actions to take effect.
Therefore,
look at the likely market and competition for
several
years to come. Review forecasts for the travel
market in
your area, if available. Careful tracking of tourism
trends in your own community can help identify
changes in
the market that you will have to adapt to. (See
Extension
bulletins E-1959 and E-1992 for more details on
feasibility and marketing.)

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: When evaluating alternative

development and marketing strategies it is
important to
understand the impacts, both positive and
negative, of
proposed actions. Table 4 presents a classification
of
economic, environmental, and social impacts
associated
with tourism development. The types of impacts
and their
importance vary across different communities and
proposed
actions. Generally, the size, extent, and nature of
tourism impacts depend upon:
* volume of tourist activity relative to local activity
* length and nature of tourist contacts with the
community
* degree of concentration/dispersal of tourist
activity
in the area
* similarities or differences between local
populations
and tourists
* stability/sensitivity of local economy,
environment,
and social structure
* how well tourism is planned, controlled, and
managed.

Look at both the benefits and costs of any

proposed
actions (See Extension bulletin E-1937). While
tourism
development can increase income, revenues, and
employment, it also involves costs. Evaluate
benefits and
costs of tourism development from the
perspectives of
local government, businesses, and residents.

TABLE 4. IMPACTS OF TOURISM

Economic Impacts:
* Sales, revenue, and income
* Employment
* Fiscal impact-taxes, infrastructure costs
* Prices
* Economic base & structure

Environmental Impacts:
* Lands
* Waters
* Air
* Infrastructure
* Flora & fauna

Social Impacts:
* Population structure & distribution
* Values & attitudes
* Education
* Occupations
* Safety & security
* Congestion & crowding
* Community spirit & cohesion
* Quality of life

Impacts on Local Government

Local government provides most of the
infrastructure and
many of the services essential to tourism
development,
including highways, public parks, law enforcement,
water
and sewer, garbage collection and disposal.
Evaluate
tourism decisions with a clear understanding of the

capacity of the local infrastructure and services

relative to anticipated needs, and take into account
both
the needs of local populations and tourists.

A fiscal impact analysis evaluates the impact of

tourism
on the community's tax base and local government
costs.
It entails predicting the additional infrastructure
and
service requirements of tourism development,
estimating
their costs, deciding who will pay for/provide them,
and
how. Will tourism generate increased local
government
revenue through fees and charges, local sales or
use
taxes, increased property values or property tax
rates,
or larger local shares of federal and state tax
revenues?

Impacts on Business and Industry

Businesses that are directly serving tourists benefit

from sales to tourists. Through secondary impacts,

tourism activity also benefits a wide range of
businesses
in a community. For example, a local textile
industry may
sell to a linen supply firm that serves hotels and
motels
catering primarily to tourists. A local forest
products
industry sells to a lumberyard where local
woodcarvers or
furniture makers buy their supplies. They in turn
sell to
tourists through various retail outlets. All of these
businesses benefit from tourism.

If most products and services for tourists are

bought
outside of the local area, much of the tourist
spending
"leaks" out of the local economy. The more a
community is
"self-sufficient" in serving tourists, the larger the
local impact.

Impacts on Residents
Local residents may experience a broad range of
both
positive and negative impacts from tourism
development.
Tourism development may provide increased
employment and
income for the community. Although tourism jobs
are
primarily in the service sectors and are often
seasonal,
part time, and low-paying, these characteristics,
are
neither universal nor always undesirable. Residents
may
value opportunities for part time and seasonal
work. In
particular, employment opportunities and work
experiences
for students or retirees may be desired.
Residents may also benefit from local services that
otherwise would not be available. Tourism
development may
mean a wider variety of retailers and restaurants,
or a
better community library. It may also mean more
traffic,
higher prices, and increases in property values and
local
taxes. The general quality of the environment and
life in
the community may go up or down due to tourism
development. This depends on the nature of
tourism
development, the preferences and desires of local
residents, and how well tourism is planned and
managed.

STEPS FIVE AND SIX:

Implementation, and Monitoring and Evaluation.
We will not attempt a complete discussion of
decisionmaking, plan implementation, and
monitoring, but
these are critical steps in the success of a tourism
plan. A set of specific actions should be prescribed
with
clearly defined responsibilities and timetables.
Monitor
progress in implementing the plan and evaluate
the
success of the plan in meeting its goals and
objectives
on a regular basis. Plans generally need to be
adjusted
over time due to changing goals, changing market
conditions, and unanticipated impacts. It is a good
idea
to build monitoring and evaluation systems into
your
planning efforts.

CONCLUDING REMARKS
Successful tourism planning and development
means serving
both tourists and local residents. The bulletins in
this
series stress the importance of a market
orientation for
attracting and serving tourists. This market
orientation
must be balanced with a clear view of how tourism
serves
the broader community interest and an
understanding of
the positive and negative impacts of tourism
development.

Remember, tourism should serve the community

first and
the tourist second. Tourism development must be
compatible with other activities in the area and be
supported by the local population. Therefore, the
tourism
plan should be closely coordinated with other local
and
regional planning efforts, if not an integral part of
them.

GROWTH OF TOURISM

Impact of India's economic growth on Tourism

If one is to think about the impact of India's

economic growth on tourism in the country, one
needs to study this feature as part of the larger
picture of the developing world's contribution to
this fiscal boost. While some economists may
attribute the success of Indian economy to the
profits generated by the tourism sector, which in
turn were boosted by innovative marketing, brand-
building and strategic planning of tour packages,
other thinkers may credit the rise in number of
MNC's and diversifications of the Indian open
industries norm as being the chief cause. However,
if the WTO (World Tourism Organization) is to be
believed, as many as 698 million people have
traveled to a foreign country in 2000 and have
spent over US$ 478 billion while on tour. Now,
logically presuming India too had a share in that
pie, however big or small it may be, it would be
acceptable to conclude that this free spending of
disposable incomes, on the rise in India too, has
been a major reason for the way in which people in
India are spurring on economic growth and the
tourism sector therefore, cannot be left out either.

Contributors to economic growth: industrialization,

education, qualified professionals, opening up of
foreign markets, liberalization of trade policies and
better advertising and marketing

The above factors have been collectively

responsible for boosting our country's economic
reserves and the impact of India's economic growth
on tourism is increasingly being felt in specialty
sectors like spiritual tourism, spa tourism,
student/senior citizen or family vacation plan
segments in tourism as well as (surprise, surprise!)
adventure tourism! Better amenities and
modernization of roads, infrastructure in hotels,
local lodging options, accreditation of genuine
travel operators and guides etc., training being
imparted by government and private sector
individuals interested in developing specific regions
for tourism promotion and encouraging global
gains for India have all been strategized well.
These policies put in place after significant
contribution from field experts like market
watchers, tourism ministry and education and
foreign affairs ministry support systems are
governed by the needs of tourists visiting India for
a certain cultural flavor, yet, not be deprived of
comforts, hygiene, security and conveniences that
are world-class.

Understanding and fulfilling needs of global

tourists for quality vacationing: the kick-off for
creditable performance and strong impact of
India's economic growth on Tourism
 Indian tourism receipts combined with better
passenger transport systems and customized food
and lodging preferences taken into consideration
by exclusive tour operators has meant a niche
segment of the country's top travel agencies
generating considerable income for their industry.
No wonder, as things stand, tourism has become
the number one export earner, ahead of
automotive products, chemicals, petroleum and
food for India and this would not have been
possible without the combining of governmental,
community and private industry powers through
diversification in the economy. This diversification
of economy is a sign of health for India as a
developing nation fast emerging as a major player
in the tourism sector, which has got a shot in the
arm thanks to better management at local and
urban levels. The only issue of concern is that
should India or any of its major tourism generating
regions become dependent for its economic
survival upon one industry, it can put major stress
upon this sector and its people, who may be
compelled to perform well consistently. One
solution for easing the burden of India's welcome
economic growth off the shoulders of the locals is
for our developing country to explore other
resources, apart from embracing specialized
tourism pockets, as a way to boost the economy.

Types of Tourism in India

All types of tourism in India have registered
phenomenal growth in the last decade ever since
the Indian government decided to boost revenues
from the tourism sector by projecting India as the
ultimate tourist spot.

The reason why India has been doing well in all

types of tourism in India is that India has always
been known for its hospitality, uniqueness, and
charm – attributes that have been attracting
foreign travelers to India in hordes. The Indian
government, in order to boost tourism of various
kinds in India, has set up the Ministry of Tourism
and Culture. This ministry recently launched a
campaign called ‘Incredible India!’ in order to
encourage different types of tourism in India.
The result was that in 2004, foreign tourists spent
around US$ 15.4 billion during their trips to India.
Being a country with tremendous diversity, India
has a lot to offer in terms of tourism and related
activities. The diversity that India is famous for,
ensures that there is something to do for all
tourists in

India, no matter what their interests.

Adventure tourism

As a kind of tourism in India, adventure tourism has

recently grown in India. This involves exploration of
remote areas and exotic locales and engaging in
various activities. For adventure tourism in India,
tourists prefer to go for trekking to places like
Ladakh, Sikkim, and Himalaya. Himachal Pradesh
and Jammu and Kashmir are popular for the skiing
facilities they offer. Whitewater rafting is also
catching on in India and tourists flock to places
such as Uttranchal, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh
for this adrenalin-packed activity.
Wildlife tourism

India has a rich forest cover which has some

beautiful and exotic species of wildlife – some of
which that are even endangered and very rare.
This has boosted wildlife tourism in India. The
places where a foreign tourist can go for wildlife
tourism in India are the Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary,
Keoladeo Ghana National Park, and Corbett
National Park.

Medical tourism

Tourists from all over the world have been

thronging India to avail themselves of cost-
effective but superior quality healthcare in terms of
surgical procedures and general medical attention.
There are several medical institutes in the country
that cater to foreign patients and impart top-
quality healthcare at a fraction of what it would
have cost in developed nations such as USA and
UK. It is expected that medical tourism in India will
hold a value around US$ 2 billion by 2012. The city
of Chennai attracts around 45% of medical tourists
from foreign countries.
Pilgrimage tourism

India is famous for its temples and that is the

reason that among the different kinds of tourism in
India, pilgrimage tourism is increasing most rapidly.
The various places for tourists to visit in India for
pilgrimage are Vaishno Devi, Golden temple, Char
Dham, and Mathura Vrindavan.

Eco tourism

Among the types of tourism in India, ecotourism

have grown recently. Ecotourism entails the
sustainable preservation of a naturally endowed
area or region. This is becoming more and more
significant for the ecological development of all
regions that have tourist value. For ecotourism in
India, tourists can go to places such as Kaziranga
National Park, Gir National Park, and Kanha
National Park.

Cultural tourism

India is known for its rich cultural heritage and an

element of mysticism, which is why tourists come
to India to experience it for themselves. The
various fairs and festivals that tourists can visit in
India are the Pushkar fair, Taj Mahotsav, and Suraj
Kund mela.

The types of tourism in India have grown and this

has boosted the Indian economy. That it continues
to grow efforts must be taken by the Indian
government, so that the tourism sector can
contribute more substantially to the nation’s GDP.

UNIT –II
Growth of travel through ages

Checking population growth through the ages

Date: 14/02/1993

Source: Down to Earth

Tags Contraception, Greece, Population, Traditional

Knowledge

THE DEBATE on abortion between pro-choice and

pro-life supporters is as old as antiquity, historian
Angus McLaren says in his book, A History of
Contraception. McLaren argues the issues raised by
even the most recent breakthroughs in
reproductive technologies are firmly rooted in the
cultural traditions of the West. He contends a
woman of early this century, faced with an
undesired pregnancy, was not likely to feel too
differently from her counterpart in the 18th or the
13th centuries.

The issue of when a foetus is to be considered a

human being -- a raging issue even today -- did not
nag ancient Greeks, whose philosophers
maintained nascent life had only limited rights. A
male foetus was not a rational or ensouled being
until after 30 days, according to Hippocrates, and
40 days according to Aristotle. The age for the
female foetus was 80 or 90 days. The Greeks
envisaged the existence of a variety of souls:
nutritive for plants, sensitive for animals and
rational for humans. The foetus, in moving through
these various levels, would be viewed by the
Greeks as alive from an early stage, but only in the
same way as the corresponding soul. Aristotle even
held semen and menstrual fluid had souls.
Different cultures used different methods to limit
family size. Today's doctors may tell us that most
of the touted purported abortifacients and herbal
contraceptives of earlier times could not work, but
for people living then, these concoctions had both
symbolic and practical value. At the least,
exchanging such recipes among women shored up
a sense of female solidarity; at best, some did
provide a vital margin of protection.

Ancient practices There is abundant evidence that

a vast variety of fertility controls were practised in
the past. Abstinence, abortion, coitus interruptus
and extended nursing were methods used by the
Greeks and which have remained as the basic
forms of family limitation for most people till well
into this century. It was not until the 1960s that the
oral contraceptive and the plastic IUD (intra-uterine
device), were developed and available for use.

Coitus interruptus was the main form of

contraception in the ancient world and it remained
so in 19th century Europe and even as late as the
1970s in France and Czechoslovakia. In ancient
Greece, according to Aristotle, homosexuality was
officially supported in Crete as a method of
population control and resorting to courtesans was
widespread. For the Greeks, manipulation of
fertility was desirable and it was believed to be
possible. Plato, responding to a query how
population stability could be ensured, replied,
"There are many devices available. If too many
children are being born, there are measures to
check propagation. On the other hand, a high birth
rate can be encouraged and stimulated by
conferring marks of distinction or disgrace."

Many of the Greek attitudes to limiting procreation

continued to prevail until the Middle Ages (See
box).

Enter the condom Ironically, the condom --

generally considered the most effective
contraceptive developed in the early modern era --
played only a minor role in the decline of fertility
because it was used mainly to avoid venereal
disease. In 1564, Gabriello Fallopio described a
small linen covering that could be used for the
penis to prevent infections. Condoms were made of
animal bladders or fine skins upto the 1700s.
In 1816, condoms made of sheep gut with a ribbon
to tie off the open end were in use. In Europe,
condoms of animal skins and silk were in use until
the 20th century. French propagandists provided
information to housewives on how they could make
condoms from animal intestines bought from
butcher shops. At the end of the 18th century,
condoms were known to be available in brothels in
London, Paris, Berlin and St Petersburg.

But 10 years after Goodyear and Hannock patented

their rubber vulcanising process in 1844, rubber
condoms were available for sale in the US at $5 a
dozen. But even washed, dried and re-used, these
condoms were still too expensive for the lower
classes. Furthermore, condoms found limited
acceptance in the 19th century because they were
associated with prostitutes and venereal disease.
An indicator of the embarrassment with which they
were viewed was that the British called condoms
"French letters" and the French referred to them as
la capote Anglaise.

By the end of the 19th century, barrier methods of

birth control, such as the diaphragm, then known
as the womb veil, were developed. The diaphragm,
accompanied by douching (cleansing with a liquid
such as vinegar, capable of killing sperm), was an
effective but expensive contraceptive that had to
be fitted by a physician. This restricted its use to
the middle and upper classes.

Easy usage

Commercial houses at the turn of the century

began to develop acidic powders and jellies to
block and kill sperm. But easier to use was the
soluble quinine pessary or suppository, developed
by the Rendell company in England in the 1880s.
Other home-made products utilising both barrier
and spermicide were soon being made from cocoa
butter and glycerine by innovative housewives in
USA and the UK.

All through history, a dominant reason for the

concern for contraception has been the regulation
of the working class population. It is usually
assumed the working class breeds faster and in
larger numbers. Even in the 1930s, American social
conservatives such as Clarence James Gamble (a
soap dynasty scion) experimented with the mass
delivery of simple contraceptives such as lactic
acid jelly, because he was convinced that welfare
costs could be kept down by limiting family size.

In the 1950s, family planners positing the Third

World's population crisis could be solved only
through the adoption of Western contraceptives,
popularised the concept that science had
triumphed over fertility. Western societies, they
cheerfully conceded, were once as incapable of
rationally restricting family size as societies in the
developing world today. The emergence of a
"modern mentality" was what saved them, family
planners argued, and the Third World's salvation
was rooted similarly in modern medicine.

Such fallacious approaches have since proved

disastrous. The new contraceptives, even after
adoption, often only replace traditional birth-
control methods. More worrisome is the finding
that modern methods could undermine the success
of traditional fertility-controlling practices. Oral
contraceptives, for instance, put an end to a
woman's ability to space births by extended
breast-feeding. They thus have the reverse effect
of actually raising the birth rate.

ACCOUNTS OF FAMOUS INDIAN

TRAVELLERS
TRAVELERS ON THE SILK ROAD
Introduction

This is an on-going project to compile an annotated

list of all the important travelers on the Silk Road.
The travels are arranged in chronological order.
Each entry will include a brief description,
highlighting where possible issues such as where
the person went, and why the journey and its
record are important. Our initial selection
concentrates on accounts of travels prior to the
eighteenth century. Do not be alarmed that some
obvious names have not yet appeared on the list.
We are working to fill in gaps as fast as we can; to
some extent, our initial selection was dictated
simply by what we could most easily complete in a
short time. Once we are somewhat farther along in
our coverage, we will post a list of additional
individuals whom we intend to include; at that
point we will be pleased to receive suggestions
about significant omissions. We have chosen
primarily travelers who left accounts based on their
travels and whose accounts are generally
considered to provide valuable historical and
cultural information. Our main concern is with
overland travel, although in some instances we
include accounts about the sea routes around
south Asia to the Middle East. Although we are
starting with "early" travelers, the list eventually
will include important explorer/travelers from
modern times (down into the twentieth century). In
certain cases, we will include descriptive accounts
of the Silk Road even if the authors or compilers
may not actually themselves have traveled in the
areas described. Well-known travelers such as
Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta often describe places we
know they did not visit. Although we might not
think of him as a traveler, an individual such as Ibn
Khurdadbeh (who was "postmaster general" of the
Abbasid Caliphate in the 10th century) deserves to
be included here as well, since he tapped into the
expertise of individuals who had in fact traveled on
the routes he describes. We include travelers
whose accounts are available in Western
languages. However, some cases are so important
that we include them even if no translation is
available. Perhaps this will serve as an incentive for
those accounts to be translated.

Each entry includes selected bibliographical

references (linked from a separate file). Where they
exist, English or other Western language texts or
translations are cited for the original travel
accounts (designated as "primary sources"). Even if
there is a new translation which supersedes
previous ones, we may include the older versions,
since they may be more readily accessible. We also
include selected secondary literature about the
particular traveler and, where possible, annotate
the bibliographic entries to explain the value of the
work cited. In many instances, the choice of what
to include in the bibliography reflects our
perception of the relative accessibility of the item
for those who may not have access to a major
research library. Works that have received wide
attention (whether or not they merit it) may be
cited precisely because they are "well known."
While we hope that the individual bibliographical
references are full and accurate, we are not
attempting here to provide the kind of
comprehensive coverage that specialists would
require. Thus we normally do not cite primary
sources in their original language editions, if those
languages are non-western. Suggestions for
additions to the bibliography within the stated
guidelines would be welcome.

This page is compiled and maintained by Prof.

Daniel Waugh (The University of Washington) and
Adela Lee (The Silkroad Foundation)

-959 King Mu (Mu Wang),. West Chou king and the

earliest reputed Silk Road traveller. His travel
account Mu tianzi zhuan, written in the 5th-4th
century BC, is the first known travel book on the
Silk Road. It tells of his journey to the Tarim basin,
the Pamir mountains and further into today's Iran
region, where the legendary meeting with
Xiwangmu was taken place. Returned via the
Southern route. The book no longer exists but is
referenced in Shan Hai Zin, Leizi: Mu Wang Zhuan,
and Shiji.

-138-116. Zhang Qian (Chang Ch'ien). Chinese

general and envoy credited with opening the Silk
Road after his mission from the Han Emperor Wudi
to recruit the Yueh-chih people to form an alliance
against the Xiongnu. First trip (138-125) skirted the
Taklamakan desert via the northern route, passed
the Pamir, then reached Ferghana. Returned via
the southern route. His second trip (119-115), a
mission to seek alliance with Wu-sun people, took
him to Dunhuang, Loulan, Kucha, then the capital
of Wu-sun kingdom in the Ili river. His missions to
the west led to the formalization of trade,
especially the silk trade, between China and Persia.
Read more.... Read the bibliography.

40-70. Anonymous author of the Periplus of the

Erythraen (=Red) Sea. A merchant handbook,
written apparently by an Egyptian Greek, about
trade routes through the Red Sea and involving
both East Africa and India. One of the most
important sources for Roman Eastern trade,
compiled after the discovery of how to use the
monsoon winds to make the round trip to India.
Includes extensive information on ports and
products. Read the bibliography.

73-102. Ban Chao (Pan Ch'ao). Chinese general

restoring the Tarim basin under Han's power and
maintaining whole control of the area as west as
Kashgar during his career there. He sent out
emissaries to the area west and beyond the Tarim
basin, including the area of modern-day Iran and
the Persian Gulf. Read the bibliography.
97 Gan Ying (Kan Ying). First Chinese envoy to Ta-
Ts'in (the Roman Orient) sent by general Ban Chao
from Kashgaria in 97 AD. Journeyed through the
Pamir mountains, Parthia, and reached as far as
the the coast of the Persian Gulf. However he was
dissuaded from continuing further west. The first
known Chinese visited the Middle East as west as
T'iao-chih, near the present Nedjef, Iraq. Read the
bibliography.

399-413. Faxian (Fa-hsien). First Chinese monk

reaching Indian and returning with a knowledge of
Buddhism. Traveled the southern route through
Shenshen, Dunhuang, Khotan, and then over the
Himalayas, to Gandhara, Peshawur then India. He
journeyed most of the way on foot and was the first
known traveler passing through the Taklamakan
desert from Woo-e to Khoten. Returned to China via
the sea route. Read more....Read the bibliography.

518-521 Song Yun (Sung Yun)/Huisheng. Sung Yun

of Dunhuang went with a monk Huisheng on a
mission sent by the Empress Dowager to obtain the
Buddhist scriptures in India in 518. Travled through
the Taklamakan desert via the southern route
passing Shanshan, Charkhlik, Khotan, then further
west into the Hindu Kush, Kabul, Peshawar. The
most interesting account is their visit to the
Ephthalites (the White Hun) kingdom, who
centered in eastern Afghanistan and controlled
much of the Central Asia during the 5th and 6th
centuries. Both wrote a travel account but none
remained.

629-645. Xuan Zang (Hsuan-tsang). Chinese

Buddhist monk and translator traveling across the
Tarim basin via the northern route, Turfan, Kucha,
Tashkent, Samarkand, Bactria, then over the Kindu
Kush to India. Returned via the southern route. He
spent his remaining life translating sutras into
Chinese. .His travel and story became fantastic
legends which were used in plays and novels, such
as Wu Ch'eng-en's famous novel in the 16th
century, Journey to the West. Read more.... Read
the bibliography

713-741. Hwi Chao. Korean monk but grew up in

China. Traveled to India via sea route (route
unclear). Lived there for several years and visited
various Buddhist kingdoms in India, Persia and
Afghanistan. On the returning journey, traveled to
Kashmir, Kabul, passed the Pamirs and entered
Xinjiang from Tashkurgan, then skirted around the
Taklamakan desert from the northern towns, Kucha,
Turfan and Hami. His account Wang wou t'ien tchou
kquo tch'ouan or The Record to Five Indian
Kingdoms provided vaulable information on the
Islamic and Buddhist distribution among the
Central Asian kingdoms during the 8th century. His
book had been lost since Tang dynasty until an
incomplete copy (14 pages, ~6000 words) was
miraculously discovered by the French explorer,
Paul Pelliot at Dunhuang cave in 1908.

751 - 762 Du Hwai. Chinese soldier defeated and

prisoned by the Arab at the famous battle of Talas
in 751. Stayed in the prison camp for ten long
years and traveled to Tashkent, Samarkand, passed
northern Iran to Iraq, west into Syria. On the
Perisan Gulf, he boarded a foreign ship, returned to
Canton via Indian Ocean and South China Sea. His
book is a personal account of Talas battle and his
prison life in Central Asia.

750-789 Wukong (Wu-K'ung). Chinese monk went

as a delegation with the ambassador from
Samarkand who was returning home. He fell ill
there and could not return with his countrymen. On
his recovery he became a monk and lived in
Gandhara and Kashmir, not returning to China until
790 Read the bibliography.
821. Tamim ibn Bahr. According to Minorsky, "the
only Muslim traveller who has left a record of his
visit to the Uyghur capital on the Orkhon, i.e., to
Khara-balghasun in the present-day Mongolia." The
author likely was from Khorasan and was sent to
the East in connection with political upheavals in
Transoxiana. Only an abridged version of his
narrative survives, known especially from Yaqut's
geographical dictionary. Read the bibliography.

921-922. Ahmad Ibn Fadlan.Sent as ambassador

from the Abbasid Caliph to the ruler of the Bulgars
on the middle Volga River. The route went from
Baghdad via the territories of the Samanid state
and its capital Bukhara, through Khwarezm and
north of the Caspian Sea. Although the account we
have is not the original report, it has great value,
since Ibn Fadlan "possessed extraordinary powers
of observation." (Canard). The account is often best
known for its rather lurid but valuable description
of a Viking (Rus) funeral on the Volga; this served
as the inspiration for a best-seller by the novelist
Michael Crichton, Eaters of the Dead. Read the
bibliography.

1219-1225. Yeh-lü Ch'u-ts'ai. Great Kitan statesman

and poet who became advisor to Genghis Khan and
his successors. Traveled with Genghis Khan and his
army to Central Asia in 1219. Journeyed to Altai, Ili
valley, Talas, Samarkand, Buhara. His impression
on the prosperous Buhara can be read on some of
his poems. Returned via Tienshan, Urumqi, Turfan,
and Hami. His travel book Xi Yue Lu (The Travel
Record to the West) is only available in
Chinese.Read the bibliography.

1245-1247, 1249-1251. Andrew of Longjumeau. A

Dominican and papal envoy to the Mongols,
traveled from the Holy Land to vicinity of Tabriz (N.
Iran) on his first trip. On the second, accompanied
by several others including his brother William,
went much farther (his route is not well
documented) to the inner Asian dominions of the
Mongols, where he arrived during the regency of
Oghul Qaimish, the widow of Khan Güyüg. We know
of his journeys from summaries in Matthew Paris's
Chronica Majora. Read the bibliography.

1220-1221. Wu-ku-sun Chung tuan.Accompanied

by An T'ing chen, sent as ambassador of the Jin
emperor to Chingis Khan, whom he found
apparently in the Hindukush mountains (today's
Afghanistan), not "the North." The Pei shi ki (Notes
on an Embassy to the North) is a written version of
his oral report copied in the Chi pu tsu chai ts'ung
shu. Bretschneider indicates the "narrative is of
little importance." Read the bibliography.

1221-1224. K'iu Ch'ang Ch'un and Li chi ch'ang. An

eminent Taoist monk born in 1148 CE and thus
elderly at the time of his trip, Ch'ang Ch'un was
ordered by Chingis Khan to travel to his court. The
route went through the Altai and Tienshan
mountains, the southern parts of today's
Kazakhstan, through Kyrgyzstan, to Samarkand and
then down into NE Iran and Afghanistan. He was
accompanied by Li Chi ch'ang, who wrote the Hsi
Yu Chi, a rather detailed diary of the journey; it was
published with an introduction by Sun si in 1228
and included in the Tao tsang tsi yao. Bretschneider
feels that this account "occupies a higher place
than many reports of our European mediaeval
tavellers." Read the bibliography.

1245-1248. Ascelinus and Simon of San Quentin.

Dominican envoys of the Pope to the Mongols, who
went from the Levant into the southern Caucasus
and returned (accompanied by Mongol envoys) via
Tabriz, Mosul, Allepo, Antioch and Acre. There is
information about the embassy in Matthew Paris's
chronicle as well as in an account written by Simon
of San Quentin, which has not been translated into
English. Read the bibliography.
1245-1247. John of Plano Carpini (Pian del Carpine)
and Benedict the Pole. Franciscan monks sent as
envoys of Pope Innocent IV to the Mongol Khan.
Traveled through the dominions of Khan Batu (ruler
of the "Golden Horde") to the vicinity of Karakorum,
where they witnessed the proclamation of Güyüg
as the new Great Khan. Where he is discussing that
which he actually saw, Friar John's account
("History of the Mongols"/Historia Mongalorum) is
"the first direct authentic description of Asia"
(Olschki) and one of the most perceptive and
detailed accounts we have of the Mongols in the
thirteenth century. Considering his European
Christian perspective, it is surprisingly unbiased. It
became quite widely known in Europe through
excerpts in an encyclopedia compiled by Vincent of
Beauvais, the Speculum Historiale. Read the
bibliography.

1253-1255. William (Guillaume/Willem) of Rubruck

(Ruysbroeck). Franciscan missionary from Flanders
who traveled through the Black Sea and the
territories of the Golden Horde to the court of the
Great Khan Möngke at Karakorum. His account
(Itinerarium) is "a mine of varied information about
the Asiatic life of his times" (Olschki). It contains
"the fullest and most authentic information on the
Mongol Empire in its pre-Chinese phase" (Dawson);
it is of interest for descriptions of encounters with
Nestorian Christians, of Karakorum itself and the
palace which is no longer extant, and much more.
Although his experiences interested his
contemporary Roger Bacon, Rubruck's account did
not become widely known until it was translated
and published late in the sixteenth century. Read
the bibligraphy.

1254-1255. Hayton I (also, Hethum, Haithon) and

Kirakos Gandsaketsi. King of Little Armenia, Hayton
traveled through the Caucasus and territories of
Khan Batu to the Great Khan Möngke in Karakorum
and then back via Samarkand, Bukhara and Tabriz.
The account of his travels was written down by
Kirakos, who accompanied Hayton. This account is
not to be confused with a descriptive narrative of
the Near East written by Hayton's nephew of the
same name. Read the bibliography.

1259-1260. Ch'ang Te.Envoy from Mongol Khan

Möngke to his brother Hülegü soon after the
latter's conquest of the Abbasid Chaliphate. Ch'ang
Te's Si Shi Ki, recorded by Liu Yu, is part travel diary
and part a second-hand account of Hülegü's
campaigns in the West. Its geographical
information is inferior to that of Ch'ang Ch'un. Read
the bibliography.

1260-1263. Yeh-lü Hi Liang. Great-grandson of Yeh-

lü Ch'u-ts'ai, who, with his father, worked for
Möngke Khan and then Qubilai. His biography in
the Yüan-shi relates his travels in Inner Asia in the
period of the Mongol civil war prior to Qubilai's
consolidation of power. Read the bibliography.

1260-1269, 1271-1295. Niccolò and Maffeo Polo.

The merchant father and uncle of Marco Polo
traveled from the Crimea through the other
territories of the Golden Horde to Bukhara and
ultimately to the court of Qubilai Khan in North
China. Qubilai sent them back to Europe on a
mission to the Pope via the overland route; they
arrived in Venice in 1269. When they departed
again for China in 1271 via the Levant, Anatolia
and Persia, they were accompanied by young
Marco. Our knowledge of their travel is from
Marco's book. Read the bibliography.

1271-1295. Marco Polo. The most famous of the

Silk Road travelers, who, by his own account,
worked for Qubilai Khan. He traveled overland
through Persia across the Pamirs and south of the
Taklamakan; his return was by sea from China
around south Asia to Hormuz, whence he went
overland to the Mediterranean. A Venetian, Marco
dictated his account to a professional writer of
romances while imprisoned by the Genoese on his
return. It is important to remember he was not
keeping a diary. Olschki calls it "not...a book of
travel and adventure, but a treatise of empirical
geography." Clearly some of the descriptions are
formulaic, others not based on direct observation,
and others reflecting the common stock of travel
mythology. Many of his observations are precise
and verifiable; others unique but likely accurate.
Since his main associations seem to have been
with the Mongol rulers of China and with the
Muslim merchant community, often he is silent
about "obvious" features of Chinese society. Polo's
book became well known in Renaissance Europe
and served as a stimulus to further travel and
discovery. Read the bibliography.

1275-1279. 1287-1288. Rabban Bar Sauma and

Markos. Önggüd (Turkic) Nestorian monks who
traveled from Tai-tu, Qubilai Khan's northern
capital, to the Middle East, via the southern branch
of the Silk Road (through Khotan and Kashgar).
Although on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem (which they
never reached), they seem to have had official
sponsorship from the Khan. Once in the Mongol
Ilkhanid realms, they became involved in Nestorian
church politics, and Markos eventually was elected
head of the church as Patriarch Mar Yaballaha III.
Bar Sauma was sent to the West as an emissary of
the Ilkhanid ruler Arghun in 1287, with the goal of
concluding an alliance against the Mamluks. Bar
Sauma's writings were preserved in an abridged
translation into Syriac, from which there are
several translations into modern languages. As
Rossabi notes, "His narrative remains the only one
of its era to provide an East Asian perspective on
European ways and rites," even though it is
somewhat disappointing in detail about life in the
places through which he traveled. Like their
contemporary, Marco Polo, the travelers are not
mentioned in any Chinese sources. Read the
bibliography.

1279-1328. John of Monte Corvino. Franciscan

missionary, active in Armenia and Persia, and then
in India and China. He left Tabriz for India in 1291
and arrived in Beijing probably after the death of
Qubilai Khan in 1294. He was elevated to the rank
of Archbishop in ca. 1307 and continued to head
the Catholic mission there until his death. Although
he did not write a travel narrative, several of his
letters have been preserved. Read the bibliography.

ca. 1316-1330. Odoric of Pordenone. Franciscan

monk who traveled via Constantinople and the
Black Sea to Persia, and then via the Indian Ocean
to India in the early 1320s. From there he sailed
around southeast Asia to the east coast of China
and spent several years in Beijing. His claim to
have returned via Tibet is dubious, although he
apparently traveled overland, arriving back in
Venice via the Black Sea and Constantinople. His
lengthy travel account, which he dictated in 1330,
became a "best seller," in part because of Odoric's
indiscriminate mixture of tall tales with more
authentic information. He occasionally notes
aspects of Chinese culture that were ignored by
Marco Polo, "with whose account he was certainly
familiar" (de Rachewiltz). Important portions of his
material were re-worked and given a further
fictional gloss by the author of the very popular
late medieval travel fable attributed to John
Mandeville. Read the bibliography.

1325-1354. Ibn Battuta. A native of Tangier

(Morocco), Shams al-Din Abu 'Abd Allah
Muhammad Ibn Battuta (1304-1368/9 or 1377) is
famous for spending the years between 1325 and
1354, when he returned home, traveling across
North Africa and through much of Eurasia, all the
way to China. His initial goal was to participate in
the pilgrimage to Mecca (the hajj); his interest in
Muslim holy men and places dominates portions of
his text. While he may have kept notes, the
account as we have it is "a work of literature, part
autobiography and part descriptive compendium"
(Dunn). It was dictated to Ibn Djuzayy between
1354 and 1357. Some sections clearly do not
contain eye-witness material; chronology is often
confused. There are critical views of the value of
his material on Iran and questions about how much
he saw in China. Among the most valuable sections
are his descriptions of Anatolia, the territories and
customs of the Golden Horde, and Southern India.
Read the bibliography.

1339-1353. John of Marignolli. Franciscan sent as

papal legate to Yüan (Mongol) Emperor of China.
Entered the lands of the Golden Horde via the
Black Sea. His route probably ran through Urgench
(S. of Aral Sea), via Hami (north of the Taklamakan)
to Beijing and Shang-tu, where he was received in
August 1342. After three years, headed home via
ship to Hormuz and then overland to the Levant.
Included his travel recollections in his chronicle of
the history of Bohemia; his account was ignored
until the nineteenth century. Read the bibliography.

1340. Francesco Balducci Pegolotti. A Florentine

merchant, Pegolotti was active in the Eastern
Mediterranean in the second quarter of the
fourteenth century, at which time he acquired first-
and second-hand information on the Asian trade.
While he himself never travelled further east, his
account is of particular interest for its description
of the relative security of trade routes through the
territories of the Mongol Empire and the great
variety of products available in commercial centers
such as Constantinople by about 1340. His
merchant handbook survived in a copy made in
1471. Read the bibliography.

1403-1406. Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo and Alfonso

Paez. Ambassadors of Spanish King Henry III of
Castile and Leon to Timur (Tamerlane). A third
envoy, Gómez de Salazar, died en route. Traveled
through the Mediterranean to Constantinople, into
the Black Sea to Trebizond and then overland via
Tabriz to Balkh, Kesh (Shahr-i Sabs) and
Samarkand. On return journey, they passed
through Bukhara. Clavijo's account, written soon
after his return in 1406, is a very important source
for travel on the western part of the Silk Road. Its
description of Tamerlane's Samarkand is one of the
fullest available and includes substantial detail on
economic life, trade with India and China, and
Timurid buildings. Read the bibliography.

1413-1415, 1421-1422, 1431-1433. Ma Huan.

Muslim interpreter who accompanied the famous
Ming admiral Ch'eng Ho (Zheng He) on his fourth,
sixth and seventh expeditions to the Indian Ocean.
His Ying-yai sheng-lan (Overall Survey of the
Ocean's Shores) (published in 1451) contains
valuable information on geography, products and
trade in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle
East. On the first two voyages, he went as far as
Hormuz; on the third he apparently reached Mecca.
Read the bibliography.

1419-1422. Ghiyathuddin Naqqash. Artist

representing Prince Mirza Baysunghur, son of
Timurid ruler Shahrukh, in embassy sent by latter
to Beijing in 1419. Describes travel via route north
of Tarim Basin (through Turfan, Jiayuguan, Suzhou
to Beijing and back via Kashgar to Herat), various
aspects of culture along way, including Buddhism,
and reception at Ming court. Read the bibliography.
1435-1439. Pero Tafur. A native and notable of
Cordoba, born ca. 1410, Tafur traveled from Spain
to the Eastern Mediterranean and back. While not a
merchant, he was very interested in commercial
affairs and well connected with the trading
networks. He was in Egypt, the Black Sea region
and in the sad remains of the dying
Constantinople; while he thought about going to
India, the closest he came was a conversation with
the famous traveler Nicolo di Conti, whom he met
on the latter's return journey from South Asia. Read
the bibliography.

1436-1452, 1473-1479. Giosofat Barbaro.A

merchant who spent a decade and a half in the
Venetian colony of Tana at the mouth of the Don
River and then in the 1470s traveled as an
ambassador to Persia. In his "Journey to Tana" he
describes the regions adjoining the Black Sea as
well as distant Muscovy, which he never visited; his
"Journey to Persia" follows closely his official report
on his mission. The latter, at least, incorporates
information from other travelers and presumably
was influened by the author's having seen the
Persian travels of Contrarini. Read the bibliography.
1466-1472. Afanasii Nikitin. A merchant from the
Russian city of Tver on the upper Volga River who
traveled through Persia to India and spent more
than 18 months there. He died just before reaching
home. The largest part of his travel account
describes India; the account is of some interest for
his advice to fellow Christian merchants to leave
their faith at home and profess Islam if they wished
to prosper on the Silk Road. There is a 1958
Russian film based on his journey; a Soviet
oceanographic expedition named a newly
discovered undersea mount off the southern coast
of India for Nikitin. Read the bibliography.

1474-1477. Ambrogio Contarini.Venetian

ambassador to Persia, who traveled through
Central Europe, Ukraine, the Crimea and the
Caucasus? In Persia he spent time in Tabriz and
Isfahan, and returned home via Muscovy and
Poland. Although he traveled rapidly, he was a
good observer. Apart from what he relates about
conditions in the Caucasus and Persia under Uzun
Hasan, his narrative is of considerable interest for
its material on Moscow in the important reign of
Grand Prince Ivan III. Read the bibliography.
1490s-1530. Babur. The great-great-great-
grandson of Timur (Tamerlane), Zahiruddin
Muhammad Babur (1483-1530) wrote a stunning
memoir of his early life and struggles in Central
Asia and Afghanistan before finally settling in
northern India and founding the Mughal Empire. His
Baburnama offers a highly educated Central Asian
Muslim's observations of the world in which he
moved. There is much on the political and military
struggles of his time but also extensive descriptive
sections on the physical and human geography,
the flora and fauna, nomads in their pastures and
urban environments enriched by the architecture,
music and Persian and Turkic literature patronized
by the Timurids. His most recent translator
declares, "Said to 'rank with the Confessions of St.
Augustine and Rousseau, and the memoirs of
Gibbon and Newton,' Babur's memoirs are the
first--and until relatively recent times, the only--
true autobiography in Islamic literature." Read the
bibliography.

1557-1560, 1561-1564, 1566-1567, 1571-1572.

Anthony Jenkinson. Representing the English
Muscovy Company and accompanied by Richard
and Robert Johnson, traveled via the White Sea and
Moscow, down the Volga River and across the
Caspian Sea to Bukhara and then back by the
same route in 1557-60. In 1561-1564, via the same
route to the Caspian, he went to Persia to try
negotiating trade agreements; spent the winter in
Kazvin discussing the spice trade with Indian
merchants. Jenkinson's subsequent trips did not
take him beyond Moscow. Beginning in 1546, well
prior to his Russia service, Jenkinson had traveled
widely in the Mediterranean and the Levant. Read
the bibliography.

1579, 1580-1582, 1583-1584. John Newbery.A

London merchant, Newbery undertook three trips.
The first went only as far as the Levant. The second
took him from the Levant through Mesopotamia to
the Persian Gulf and Hormuz and then back
through central Persia, the southern fringe of the
Caucasus, Anatolia, and Eastern Europe. On the
third he was accompanied by Ralph Fitch (see
separate entry), John Eldred (who stopped short of
the Persian Gulf), William Leeds and James Story all
the way to the Mughal court in India. Newbery died
on the route home. He was the first Englishman to
visit several of these regions. Unfortunately, he
never wrote much about his travels--notes on the
first and especially the second trip were apparently
worked into a narrative by Purchas in the 17th
century; the third trip is known from some letters,
Fitch's account, and Linschoten. Read the
bibliography.

1583-1591. Ralph Fitch.English merchant (d. 1611)

who traveled with John Newbery (s. v.) via the
Levant and Mesopotamia to India, through northern
India and on as far as Malacca (in Malaysia) before
returning home via the Persian Gulf, to discover in
London that he was presumed dead and his
property had been divided among his heirs. He
later returned to Aleppo. He apparently did not
keep a diary; in writing down his account, in part
with the encouragement of Hakluyt, he drew upon
the travel account by the Italian Cesare Federici.
The Indian section of Fitch's account is
"disappointingly meagre and haphazard"; clearly
he must have known a lot more than made its way
into writing. Since, unlike Newbery, he survived to
tell the tale, he often is given the greater
prominence of the two. Read the bibliography.
1602-1607. Benedict Goës. In 1594 the Portuguese
Jesuit Benedict Goës joined a mission to the Mughal
Emperor Akbar, where he was chosen by the Jesuit
leadership (partly because of his knowledge of
Persian) to travel on an exploratory mission to
China via Kashgar. He died before reaching Beijing;
what survived of his notes and letters and some
oral accounts were later (1615) combined by the
famous Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci into his
travel journal. Despite some inconsistencies and
problems in dating, the account is a unique record
by a European of travel on the overland trade
routes in inner Asia at the beginning of the
seventeenth century. One is struck by the route
itself-- heading northwest into Afghanistan before
going north across the Hindu Kush to the
headwaters of the Amu Darya, then east to Sarikol
and on to Yarkand and Kashgar before skirting the
Taklamakan on the north. The account details
human and natural threats to travel and other
aspects of the inner Asian trade, and provides
some valuable information on the political divisions
of the time. Read the bibliography.
1615-1616. Richard Steele and John Crowther.
Agents for the British East India Company, traveled
from Agra, the Mughal capital in N. India, overland
via Kandahar to the Safavid capital Isfahan. Their
account highlights the continuing importance of
the overland trade routes, in part as a way of
avoiding the Portuguese control of the Indian
Ocean ports. There is interesting information on
the role of the Afghan nomads along the route and
an emphasis on the relative safety of travel in the
period of Mughal and Safavid strength and stability.
Steele then returned to England by traveling
overland to the Mediterranean and taking a boat
via Marseilles; Crowther returned to India. Read the
bibliography.

1629-1675. Jean Baptiste Tavernier. French

merchant/jeweler who probably knew the overland
trade routes through Persia better than any other
European in the seventeenth century. His six
voyages took him to the Ottoman Empire, Safavid
Persia and Mughal India; his interactions with the
merchant communities (notably the Armenians in
Persia) gave him an insider's perspective. His
account reflects the editing of a professional writer
but is precise and detailed. Read the bibliography.
1633-35, 1635-39, 1643. Adam Olearius. Secretary
to Embassy of Holstein and (in 1643) Ambassador
from Holstein. First and third missions were to
Moscow; second went through Moscovy to Persia,
where he spent a year and the conduct of one of its
members did a great deal to discredit the
enterprise. Well-educated at the University of
Leipzig, Olearius compiled one of the most widely
read and detailed accounts of Muscovy and Persia,
seen through the lens of his Protestant upbringing
and learned European perspective. It was
published first in 1647; the revised German edition
of 1656 became the standard one and drew upon a
wide range of other sources. It was translated into
several languages and frequently re-published.
Read the bibliography.

1664-1667, 1671-1677. John Chardin. A French

Hugenot jeweler, Chardin spent significant time in
the Caucasus and Persia and traveled to India. His
is one of the major European accounts of Safavid
Persia, whose value is enhanced by his good
knowledge of Persian. Persecution of Protestants in
France forced him to flee to England, where he was
recognized as an expert on the Middle East. Read
the bibliography.

1682-1693. Hovhannes Joughayetsi. Armenian

merchant who traveled and traded between New
Julfa (the Armenian suburb of Isfahan), Northern
India and Tibet. He spent five years in Lhasa. His
commercial ledger is a unique source of
information on products, prices, trading conditions,
and the Armenian commercial network on the
seventeeth-century routes involving the Safavid
and Mughal empires. Read the bibliography.